Multimodal Imaging for In Vivo Evaluation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Murine Model of Heart Failure.

Myocardial stem cell therapy in heart failure is strongly dependent on successful cellular transfer, engraftment, and survival. Moreover, massive cell loss directly after intramyocardial injection is commonly observed, generating the need for efficient longitudinal monitoring of transplanted cells in order to develop more efficient transplantation techniques. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess viability and cardiac retention of induced pluripotent stem cells after intramyocardial delivery using in vivo bioluminescence analysis (BLI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Transplantation Effectiveness of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Is Improved by a Fibrinogen Biomatrix in an Experimental Model of Ischemic Heart Failure.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a fibrinogen biomatrix improves the transplantation effectiveness of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in a model of myocardial infarction.

Background: Early retention, engraftment, and cell proliferation are important factors for successful cardiac stem cell therapy. Common transplantation techniques involve the direction injection of cells in aqueous media.

Bronchoalveolar sublineage specification of pluripotent stem cells: effect of dexamethasone plus cAMP-elevating agents and keratinocyte growth factor.

Respiratory progenitors can be efficiently generated from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). However, further targeted differentiation into bronchoalveolar sublineages is still in its infancy, and distinct specifying effects of key differentiation factors are not well explored. Focusing on airway epithelial Clara cell generation, we analyzed the effect of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone plus cAMP-elevating agents (DCI) on the differentiation of murine embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into bronchoalveolar epithelial lineages, and whether keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) might further influence lineage decisions.

Macroscopic fluorescence imaging: a novel technique to monitor retention and distribution of injected microspheres in an experimental model of ischemic heart failure.

Background: The limited effectiveness of cardiac cell therapy has generated concern regarding its clinical relevance. Experimental studies show that cell retention and engraftment are low after injection into ischemic myocardium, which may restrict therapy effectiveness significantly. Surgical aspects and mechanical loss are suspected to be the main culprits behind this phenomenon.

Substantial early loss of induced pluripotent stem cells following transplantation in myocardial infarction.

The limited success of cardiac stem cell therapy has lately generated discussion regarding its effectiveness. We hypothesized that immediate cell loss after intramyocardial injection significantly obscures the regenerative potential of stem cell therapy. Therefore, our aim was to assess the distribution and quantity of induced pluripotent stem cells after intramyocardial delivery using in vivo bioluminescence analysis.

Rhesus monkey cardiosphere-derived cells for myocardial restoration.

Background Aims: Cardiosphere-derived cells (CDC) have been proposed as a promising myocardial stem cell source for cardiac repair. They have been isolated from human, porcine and rodent cardiac biopsies. However, their usefulness for myocardial restoration remains controversial.

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived Flk-1 progenitor cells engraft, differentiate, and improve heart function in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiovascular progenitor cells represent a suitable autologous cell source for myocardial regeneration as they have the capability to form myocardial cells and to contribute to revascularization. As a first proof of concept we evaluated the potential of a murine iPSC-derived cardiovascular progenitor population, which expresses the surface marker foetal liver kinase-1 (Flk-1), to restore myocardial tissue and improve cardiac function after acute myocardial infarction (MI) in mice.

Methods And Results: iPSC-derived Flk-1(pos) vs.